A remedial program for first year engineering students

Every year about a forty percent of our freshmen obtain very bad academic results. These failing students lack the abilities and personal characteristics needed to meet the requirements of the first year engineering courses. As a result of this they must leave the University. However, since 1991 the Tecnica Federico Santa Maria (UTFSM), Valparaiso, Chile, has implemented a remedial program, consisting of ad-hoc and innovative courses in mathematics, physics, engineering fundamentals, study techniques, gym and sports activities. A workshop on personal development is also part of this program. In each subject the contents are chosen according to their instructional value and utility to develop and consolidate abilities such as those corresponding to application, analysis, synthesis and written/oral language competences. The didactic strategies in place allow the active participation of the students in the classroom and also consider the use of cooperative learning procedures for homework/classroom student activities. In this paper we report the results obtained when monitoring this program in the period 1991-1998. We have obtained important insights into the psychological, didactic and technical aspects involved in the performance of these "slow-learners". We have also developed and tested the corresponding strategies mentioned in the paper, to communicate with them and induce the necessary recovery of self-esteem and self-confidence in their intellectual resources. This process also involves improving their capabilities to adequately manage their own time and obtain better academic results.